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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Market Pioneering

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2.2.2 Market pioneering

Market pioneering has some overlap with the other sub-variable pioneering orientation. Covin et al., (2000) state that market pioneering is represented by a specific form of entrepreneurial behavior. This form of behavior is represented by an organization that proactively creates or is a first-mover in a certain product-market field. Companies that actively engage in market pioneering are operating in an entrepreneurial way in a sense that they exploit certain market opportunities and by the fact that they redefine how the competitions have to adjust to the company’s pioneering standards (Covin et al., 2000).

William and Fornell (1985) define a market pioneer as “a company that is the first in developing products or …show more content…

The biggest advantages of being a first mover is that this will give a company the opportunity to earn above average profits at an early stage in a certain industry/market (Lieberman & Montgomery, 1988).

Nevertheless, being a market pioneers also brings numerous disadvantages (Lieberman & Montgomery, 1988). One main disadvantage is that “market pioneers may fail to change their business practices when the market changes” (Lieberman & Montgmery, 1988: 925). Also late movers will free ride on the foundations the market pioneer has created in the beginning.
Next disadvantage is that market pioneers will face market and technology uncertainties, which is a primary reason of failure for startups. Lastly, a shift in customer’s needs is required in order to create demand for the market pioneer’s new product or …show more content…

Intel actively searches for new opportunities in different (chip) markets, and when these new markets after a while are getting more and more established, Intel protects its market share by significantly reducing the chip’s prices (Lumpkin & Dess, 2001).
Focussing on the organizational level, research argues that in order to pursue exploratory innovation, the business departments are supposed to be decentralized with loose cultures and have to be relatively small (Benner & Tushman, 2003). Startups more or less all meet those characteristics. This should mean that the possibility to present ideas within business plan competitions could mostly be exploratory in nature. There is no business structure more flexible and loose as a startup.
Exploratory innovation compared to pioneering orientation and market pioneering should be seen as a balanced approach of both concepts. It tries to explain the internal as well as the external environment by focussing on a radical innovation of its product but at the same time also respecting the market demand and emerging customer

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